W520 on Series 3 Mini-Dock - Cooling Pad?

Does anyone have a good solution for a cooling pad which integrates well with the W520 attached to the Series 3 Mini-Dock (170Watt)? Did a search on cooling pads for this configuration and couldn't find a solution. I just received my new W520 and will be doing heavy duty video editing and transcoding professionally. I'm not sure I'll need the cooling pad but looking for solutions just in case I do. Thanks.

Hi, djones18
Normally, people would not use cooling pad with a more reliable business grade laptops, unless it is really necessary for your workload or any issue with the system.
If you are doing heavy duty video editing and transcoding, you can try push the internal fan to the maximum first with TPFanControl. Set Manual and Fan Speed to 64.
http://www.staff.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/donate.html
The Fan would be louder, but your machine would be way cooler. However, after your work, set back Fan Speed to BIOS. As running the highest fan speed all the way would make the fan worn out faster.
If it still very hot even with the highest fan speed, you could try to get a mid-range to high-end cooling pad, but I am unsure how effective it is.
Cheers
Peter
=============================================
Does someone post helps you? Give them a kudos as a reward, as they will do better to improve
Mark it as solved if the solution works for you, so it could be reference for others in the future
Refunded Set: W510, 4876-A11
Current Set: W520, 4284-A99
Dolby Home Theater v4!:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W520-Sound-Enhancement-Thread/m-p/451401#M1551...

Similar Messages

W520 and the 433810U mini dock

Do you know if the 433810U and the discontinued 433830U are the same, except for the power supply?
To wit, can I buy a 433810U, plug in my 170w power supply, and use the dock with my W520?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

The power connector on dock will prevent the 170W PSI from being used
W520, i7-2820QM, BIOS 1.42, 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 2000M NVIDIA GPU, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD, Crucial M550 mSata 512GB, WD 2TB USB 3.0, eSata Plextor PX-LB950UE BluRay
W520, i7-2760QM, BIOS 1.42 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 1000M NVIDIA GPU, Crucial M500 480GB mSata SSD, Hitachi 500GB HDD, WD 2TB USB 3.0

W520 with Mini Dock Plus Series 3 won't detect Dell U2412M Monitor

I have a W520 Thinkpad with a Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0.
Until this morning, I was able to use it with my two external monitors connected via DVI to the Mini Dock.
The two monitors I have are:
Acer V243H
Dell U2412M
The Acer works fine regardless of which DVI port I plug it into.
The Dell refuses to work on either port.
Again, both monitors were working fine as of yesterday.
Any ideas on what might have caused this or what I can do to fix it?

I have the same problem with the minidock and display port monitors. It will not recognize them at all on power up. If I then put the w520 to sleep and wake it up a few times, it will then recognize them and allow me to use them as "projectors".
Before I upgraded the BIOS and nVidia drivers, it would always recognize one of the two, and I used to have to pull the cable out and in again on the second. Now this technique doesnt work - sleep wake is the only work around.

T430s stuck in mini dock

Hello,
I have a series 3 mini dock with my lenovo T430s. Last night I docked my laptop as I usually do, and this morning when I went to undock it, I pressed the eject button but the laptop appears to be stuck in the dock. I can press the eject button, it doesn't do anything, as far as it's concerned I already ejected it. If I press down on the laptop, the dock will recognize it, but it does not stay attached. The dock has AC power, so that's not the issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

aasfr, welcome to the forum,
sorry I didn't see this earlier Are you still stuck in your dock? The same happened to one of my customers a while ago, with a bit of effort I managed to release the system without breaking it.
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
Did you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos Please add your type, model number and OS to your signature, it helps to help you. Forum Search Option T430 2347-G7U W8 x64, Yoga 10 HD+, Tablet 1838-2BG, T61p 6460-67G W7 x64, T43p 2668-G2G XP, T23 2647-9LG XP, plus a few more. FYI Unsolicited Personal Messages will be ignored.
Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español English Community Русскоязычное Сообщество
PepperonI blog

W520 Disk clicking when docked into mini-dock

When I have my W520 docked into a specific mini-dock, the hard disk will click periodically. However, I when I dock into another mini-dock (same exact model), it doesn't do this. Any ideas of why or what to look for. Why would one mini-dock cause this but not another?

I've just flashed the new BIOS (version 1.30) but the issue still persist. Is Lenovo aware of the issue with USB 3.0 SAS storage attached during system boot?
Since flashing BIOS 1.26 the behavior has changed, I can now see ThinkPad BIOS screen, then Windows 7 start loading and shortly after the Windows loading logo is displayed I get a black screen with "text mode" progress bar like the one displayed when you insert Windows 7 DVD - then I end up with a BIOS screen prompting me to select a boot device. After selecting the primary HDD, it all happens again so I am stuck in a loop (except now it asks if I want to do a system repair).
In 1.30 BIOS changelog it says:
(Fix) Fixed an issue where the computer might not be booted from bootloader program.
Unfortunately, this is probably referring to another issue which is not related to the connected SAS device.
Is there some way to submit this particular issue to Lenovo or is someone already working on resolving it?
Lenovo ThinkPad W520 15.6" 1920x1080, UEFI 1.42, Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3GHz, Intel HD3000 + nVidia Quadro 2000M 2GB, Kingston PNP 16GB (4x4GB) 1600MHz RAM, Crucial m4 040H 256GB SSD, Lenovo TP Drive Adapter UltraBay 12,7mm + WD Blue 1TB 5400rpm HDD, Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN, Gobi 3000, Lenovo TP Port Mini Dock Plus Series 3, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit

ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 UK / Italy difference?

Hi,
I'm interested in the new T520.
I'm in Germany and the german shop offers 2 versions of the ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 (UK or Italy)
Whats the difference between the UK and the Italy Version ? Both countrys have other power-plugs than we have in Germany. So which one is right for me?
The description fir the Moni Dock Plus says: "Multiple video ports: 1 VGA monitor, 2 DVI, 2 DisplayPort (Note that the video controller allows for any two video ports to be used simultaneously)"
Is that 2 ports in adition to the ThinkPad's display? Can I use 3 Screens (Thinkpad + 2 at the dock) or only 2 (any configuration).
Thanks
Tino

I think the difference would be in the power adapter plug type, but each should be compatible with your machine.
The series 3 plus dock came in 3 flavours in general:
1. 90 w adapter type
2. 135 w adapter type (for the W510 machine and also compatible with machines used on the 90 w type).
3. 170 w adapter type (for the W520 and compatible with the 135 watt and 90 watt adapter type machines).
You can support 4 screens if your T520 came with Nvidia Optimus technology, in that case you can use the 1 vga, any 2 of the DVI/Displayport, and one internal LCD (or displayport on the laptop).
If you get the intel version, then you only support 2 external LCD, or one external LCD with one internal LCD.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

W520 won't boot with eSATA RAID disks attached to Mini Dock 3 Plus

Hoping there is a simple fix to this. My month-old W520 (i7 2720QM, 16GB, Intel 80GB mSATA, 500 GB Seagate installed) sits in a Mini Dock 3 Plus. There have been absolutely no problems booting in or out of the dock.
I recently installed a 2 TB RAID 1 box in the Mini Dock 3 Plus's eSATA port (Raidon 2-disk enclosure, 2x 2 TB Hitachi 5K3000.) It performs well (great speed, very reliable so far.) Everything was fine until I shut down and rebooted--then it hung at the Think screen. Removing the eSATA connection and rebooting led to a normal boot.
I can always take the W520 out of the dock to reboot, but this is a bit of a pain. Does anybody know a way to fix this?
Thanks for any pointers.

There are similar issues with WD HDDs during boot, look at http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W520-won-t-boot-when-docked-in-mini-dock/td-p/... Unfortunately, there is no solution at this moment. I'd like to know whether it was properly reported as an issue or at least if there is some progress in resolving it, but it seems the only thing we can do is hope it will be resolved in the next BIOS/UEFI release. By the way, do you use BIOS or UEFI? When I was using BIOS, the issue was exactly the same as you describe. Then I moved to UEFI and now it doesn't freeze on Think screen, but tries to load the OS and during that process it fails and reboots.
Lenovo ThinkPad W520 15.6" 1920x1080, UEFI 1.42, Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3GHz, Intel HD3000 + nVidia Quadro 2000M 2GB, Kingston PNP 16GB (4x4GB) 1600MHz RAM, Crucial m4 040H 256GB SSD, Lenovo TP Drive Adapter UltraBay 12,7mm + WD Blue 1TB 5400rpm HDD, Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN, Gobi 3000, Lenovo TP Port Mini Dock Plus Series 3, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit

No DVI output with T420 on integrated graphics card and Mini Dock Series 3

Because of some application problems I have to set my new T420 to only use the integrated graphics card (disabling the NVidia Optimus feature). In this configuration I seem to be unable to use the DVI port on the Mini Dock Series 3, there is simply no signal and Windows reports that no monitor could be found. The VGA output works but the picture quality is quite bad.
Is this a known design limitation or do I deal with a driver issue?
Thanks
Dan

Yes, that works but there is the drawback of battery life. In the course of the day I often undock the laptop to go to meetings and using the discreet graphics card uses a lot more power and significantly reduces the time i can work without power. I would have to restart the laptop and change the setting in the BIOS after I undock, which is just not practical. For what I do I don't need the graphics power of the discreet card.

Cooling pad for Mac Mini

Does anyone uses cooling pad with a Mac Mini. If so, could you please provide some suggestions? I am not looking for a bigger one, rather it should occupy minimum space and fits the mac mini. Thanks.

The devices available to allow a Mini to set on its side, appear viable if practical in
the space you have available for your gear. An older Mini I have can stay on its
side without a holder-upper; the newer one is too thin that direction to allow it.
For now, I've found that four similar height re-used items that can fit under the
corners of the Mini, keep it elevated further off the desktop, help keep it cooler.
These could be durable thermal plastic, or just cut-offs of similar shape metal
so the computer sits flat. Since the newer Mini has that round base, if you do
set up something to raise it off the surrounding surface, take that into account
because that may also add to instability should the items be dissimilar.
I'd considered, if available super cheap (at second hand store, etc) that one of
those 'aluminum food thawing trays' but square and not rectangular, may work.
It would raise the unit up, while Mini would still rest on the round base, though.
Since heat rises; the exit is in the back of the Mini, intake is around the base.
The bottom does not get all that hot, due to internal air-flow & metal conductivity.
I prefer my method of raising the entire unit up, flat, above the desk. In part this
was due to concerns of spillage of liquid near the Mini, while on a desktop. An
upside down small metal pan, or a baking rack may do, too. And I'd want to be
able to filter dust from all air going into the Mini - without restricting the flow, too.
Anyway, other than one of the command-line tests to run up all the cores at once
to test it, there isn't much I've done to make a quad-core reach top temperatures.
Hopefully yours works OK and doesn't get near the thermal maximum...

Where are the Serial Numbers for T410 and Mini Dock Series 3?

I recently called the support line, and between the young ladies on the phone and me, we couldn't find them anywhere! There are lots of other numbers, but we couldn't find anything with an SN, S/N etc. And why (Lenovo engineers, I'm looking at you!) do the numbers have to be in such tiny font and of a color that blends in so well with the color of the computer or device? There is an entire laptop bottom to use, I'm sure there's enough room to put numbers that can be more easily read wtihout having to resort to magnifying glasses.
At any rate, someone, please tell me where they hid the serial numbers on these two pieces of equipment?
Also, I apologize for sticking this post in an existing, not-exactly-the-same-topic thread, but I couldn't find any sort of "create new thread" button anywhere. I also did a search, and while there were posts on how to find the serial numbers on other models, I couldn't find one for the T410.
Thanks so much ,in advance.

Using the mini dock series 3 you don't have to undock to remove the computer. So it's not like when using the advanced mini dock where you had to undock before the computer can be removed. That is why you don't have the undock option under the start menu or undock options in easy eject when connected to the mini dock since you don't have to undock.
If you don't use Access Connections the wireless radio will not be turned off when connected to the network using a cable. If you use Access Connections you should check that a profile have actually been applied and also the settings to allow the radio to be turned off.
Since you get network access through the docking it sounds like it's working fine. Is the monitor connected to the docking working as well?
-gan

T420s + Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 90W - USB 3.0 works as USB 2.0

Greetings!
I am most probably not the first one who is interested, but I failed to find the same topic in the forum.
I have Lenovo T420s plugged into ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 90W. The problem I have USB 3.0 port on the dock (blue one) works as USB 2.0. The laptop port works fine. I am checking it by plugging Seagate mobile HDD - when the HDD is plugged into the blue port on the dock station Windows (7, 64-bit) complains 'Device can perform faster', using laptop's port doesnt trigger the message.
USB 3.0 driver is installed.
BIOS version is 1.37.
Intel Chipset drivers are updated.
Device manager shows the connection as a chain of two 'Generic USB Hub's, if HDD is connected to the laptop's port its chain of 'Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 blah-blah'.
Please help! If this combination is just not supported, please point to the relevant link.
Thank you!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Excellent, thank you!

Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 - 170W causing uab/wireless keyboard issues

W530 here, win 7 64 bit, 32g ram. When plugged into the Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 - 170W, all external keyboards (wired/wireless) don't work. Keyboards appear to be properly recognized devices and drivers are installed, but I can't type using these keyboards and am limited to the laptop's keyboard. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jan C.

Hi, Jan C.,
I did some research and found this thread by a user named Sssith, who was experiencing a similar issue with using a keyboard with a docking station. His issue stemmed from the USB hub drivers not being correctly installed. I would recommend updating these drivers and your BIOS just to make sure. The USB drivers can be found here, and the BIOS here. If neither of these work, then you could try Sssith's method of removing the drivers and letting Windows install the generic ones.
Hope it helps,
Adam
Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution!" This will help the rest of the community with similar issues identify the verified solution and benefit from it.

Mini Dock Series 3 with USB 3.0 vs. ... with USB 3.0 - 90 W vs. ... with USB 3.0 (170W)

I am running a
Lenovo T530, Quad-Core
Intel i5-3320M CPU @ 2.6 GHz
8 GB RAM
Windows 8, 64-bit
I am using a 90W 20V power adaptor.
I want to see the difference between mainly the Mini Dock Series 3 with USB 3.0 Dock and the Mini Dock Series 3 with USB 3.0 Dock - 90 W. From looking over the descriptions, they seem to be the same product, yet the latter is $20 more expensive. Could someone explain why that is or if a difference exists?
Will my specs allow me to have a quad display configuration?
From looking at other posts, I assume using a 170W power adaptor on a laptop that runs with a 90W power adaptor is a bad idea?
Thanks in advance!

Your Intel i5 is a dual core CPU, not a quad core CPU (in case you didn't already know).
The difference between the docks you listed, one is with 2 x DP + 2 DVI while the other is 1 x DP + 1 x DVI.
Does your T530 have Nvidia GPU? If you do, then get the dock with 2 x DP + 2 x DVI (Series 3 Plus dock), this will give you quad displays setup. The one with Intel GPU will give you triple display setup through the dock.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

New mini-dock and the W520

Look at the specs for the new 433835 mini-dock:
433835U mini dock
Has anyone tried this dock with the W520? I want to know 2 things before "upgrading":
This shows that the W520 will have access to the USB 3.0 port on the dock. Does it?
It also claims:
"Mini Dock Plus (90W & 170W): 1x VGA, 2x DVI, 2x DP
Many systems allow for two of these video ports to be used simultaneously. Select systems, including those with NVIDIA Optimus technology, allow for up to three video ports on the dock to be used simultaneously."
Does this mean the W520 can drive three monitors from this dock?
Thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

christopherlang wrote:
I have the previous version dock. Lol I can't believe they dropped the eSata port for a single USB 3.0 port. Wth? All those USB 2.0 ports on this thing taking space lol. And the new one drops the eSata port. Cheap cheap lol.
Aren't our w520 supposed to be eSATAp (USB 3.0) aka eSATA USB Hybrid Port (EUHP) aka ... ?
and you use something like this cable: 3FT Power over eSATA USB 2.0 combo M to Esata + MINI USB 5pin + DC 3.5 Cable 1M if you wanted the USB? and you can still hang a drive off of the thing.
Wth with the 'improved' dock? Or do I get to find out this doesn't work anyway in my dock when I try it? 10$ cable too lol. Wow. Oh ok, USB 2.0/eSATA port for the W520. Would still rather have eSata myself, w/USB 3.0 and my disappointment now includes the w520 for having only a USB 2.0 eSATAp port. Cheap. Not very forward thinking to me either.
I suppose that the rationale was that the eSATA port was only SATA-II (3gbs) vs. the USB 3.0 port at 5gbs. The laptop could only support two eSata drives and could not be extended to a hub because the chipset didn't enumerate more drives. The USB 3.0 port can be extended to a hub for additional connections albeit at an aggregated 5gbs rate. The USB 2.0 eSATAp on the notebook is a powered connection. However, the eSATA port on the docking station is NOT powered.
People can always add eSata ports through an ExpressCard option for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839150022
In the meanwhile, I'd stop stressing over how technology products continue to evolve.There will always be market-driven tradeoffs which may not appeal to some set of users. For example, I recently ordered another W520 (plus the 433830U Dock) with the full knowledge of the incremental changes on the W530 and the new dock. The deal that I got was too hard to ignore.
YMMV
W520, i7-2820QM, BIOS 1.42, 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 2000M NVIDIA GPU, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD, Crucial M550 mSata 512GB, WD 2TB USB 3.0, eSata Plextor PX-LB950UE BluRay
W520, i7-2760QM, BIOS 1.42 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 1000M NVIDIA GPU, Crucial M500 480GB mSata SSD, Hitachi 500GB HDD, WD 2TB USB 3.0

W520 mini dock 433830U vs. 433835U

Since the 433830U mini dock is discontinued, is the 433835U the only choice for W520 users?
Ideally, I want to get a second 433830U without the power supply, since I already have several 170W bricks. i.e. used for less $$$
The loss of the eSATA port replaced by effectively a USB 2.0 port (USB 3 is capped at 2 with W520) doesn't merit a $225+ expenditure.
Suggestions?

I suppose I am not appreciating the issue. The eSata connectivity is still on your W520 and you could always connect a USB 3.0 -> eSata adapter to one of the USB 3.0 ports on the W520 to add an additional port. I just removed my eSata connection from my dock which was connected to a BluRay Writer in favor of connecting it to a USB 3.0 port on the USB 3.0 dock. It works fine except for a BIOS glitch which I can easily circumvent by not having the drive powered on when I start up the system.
W520, i7-2820QM, BIOS 1.42, 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 2000M NVIDIA GPU, Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD, Crucial M550 mSata 512GB, WD 2TB USB 3.0, eSata Plextor PX-LB950UE BluRay
W520, i7-2760QM, BIOS 1.42 1920x1080 FHD, 32 GB RAM, 1000M NVIDIA GPU, Crucial M500 480GB mSata SSD, Hitachi 500GB HDD, WD 2TB USB 3.0

W520 on Series 3 Mini-Dock - Cooling Pad?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for